Mop having a pad of disposable sheets



April 9, 1968 H. G. COLE MOP HAVING A PAD OF DI SPOSABLE SHEETS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 ATTORNEY R mm m u W EM w H 0 Y B m m Q J J x n 6 4 4 5 United States Patent M 3,376,595 MOP HAVING A PAD 6F DISPOSABLE SHEETS Harry G. Cole, 10515 Metropolitan Ave, Kensington, Md. 26795 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,757 Claims. (Cl. -228) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLUSURE The present invention relates to a mop which is provided with a plurality of individual absorbent sheets forming a pad which can be attached to the mop head and the sheets are further provided with waterproofed sections that are secured to the mop head and other sections which can be readily torn from the mop head so that each sheet as it becomes dirty can be discarded and a new fresh and clean sheet presented for the mopping operation.

The present invention relates to a mop and more particularly to a mop that is used to clean floors and the like by the use of a liquid, such as soapy water, a detergent or other suitable cleaning liquids.

In the course of cleaning a floor it is a common practice to use a mop in which the mop is first immersed or dipped into 'a liquid, such as soapy water in a bucket, or in water in which a detergent or other cleaning agent is dissolved. The rnop is generally dipped into the bucket so that the head of the mop will absorb a certain quantity of the liquid after which the liquid is applied over the floor to be cleaned by wiping. The mop head is compressed or squeezed so as to remove the dirt and the dirt is generally discharged into the bucket containing the cleaning solution. The portion of the floor that has been wiped by the mop is then gone over with the wrung out mop head so as to remove any excess liquid left on the floor.

The mop head is then dipped into the same bucket of cleaning solution, as before, and the mop head is again compressed or squeezed so that any remaining liquid in the mop head is discharged into the cleaning solution.

From the above described method of cleaning a floor it is quite obvious that the mop picks up dirt from the floor and releases it into the solution so that the solution becomes contaminated with the dirt removed from the floor. Thereafter the floor is being cleaned with a dirty solution, and it is therefore necessary to often change the cleaning solution.

The disadvantage of such a procedure is the fact that there is a great waste in hot water, the solution generally being of a hot nature, and also a complete waste of the soap or detergent that is disposed in the original bucket of cleaning solution. Another solution to the problem is to provide two buckets of solution, one containing the cleaning solution and the other containing the rinse solution. However, it is also obvious from the above mentioned procedure that the rinsing solution will also become contaminated with the dirt removed from the floor and it too must be frequently replaced with clean or fresh rinsing solution. Here too there is a waste of liquid, as well as a waste of time in requiring the mop head to be squeezed so as to compress the solution and dirt picked up from the floor out of it.

In accordance with the present invention it is an object thereof to provide a mop having a plurality of disposable absorbent sheets of material in which the dirty 3,376,595 Patented Apr. 9, 1968 sheet of material that has been utilized to clean and wipe the floor is immediately discarded and is never placed back into the cleaning solution.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a plurality of cleaning sheet materials that can be readily adapted to be secured to existing mops as an attachment thereto.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapter for a mop head in which the adapter comprises a plurality of substantially rectangular absorbent sheets of material in which the outer sheet is dipped into the cleaning solution and the floor is scrubbed or wiped with the outer sheet, after which the outer sheet is removed from the adapter and a sheet adjacent thereto is then dipped into the cleaning solution and the floor is wiped with the new and clean sheet of material. Thereafter as soon as the second sheet of material becomes contaminated with the dirt absorbed or picked up from the floor, it too is removed from the remaining portion of sheets and 'a clean sheet is dipped into the cleaning solution, and so on, until the door has been completely cleaned.

it is a further object of the present invention to provide a mop having a plurality of absorbent sheets that can be literally wrapped around a mop head and the mop head dipped into a cleaning solution which not only cleans the floor but uses a minimum amount of cleaning solution, so that it is not necessary to continuously squeeze or compress the mop head, as commonly done heretofore.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pad of sheet material consisting of a plurality of identical sheets of absorbent material that are disposed one upon the other in a pad fashion with one edge or portion of the sheets adhered to one another by any suitable means. It is another object of the present invention to provide a pad of sheet material that can be readily adapted to be secured to a mop head with means for grasping the outer sheet of the material that is used to Wipe the floor, so as to remove it from the remaining pad of sheets when it has been contaminated with dirt.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pad of sheet material on which a portion of the sheet material is made waterproof by any suitable means so that the portion of the sheet that is utilized to wipe the floor can be readily removed therefrom by tearing the sheet along a line of perforations.

Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description. When considered in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof and in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating the mop adapter disposed on a well known mop head;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the mop shown partly in section;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the mop;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a pad of sheet material utilized in connection with the mop head and;

FIGURE 5 is a view of a modification of a pad of sheet material utilized with the mop of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings the reference numeral 10 F generally designates a mop having a mop head 12 made of synthetic sponge material of a porous nature, which head is attached to the mop head holder 14 by two screw members 16 secured to the head 12 by an suitable means and extending through a substantially rectangular plate 18. The plate 18 has a central upraised 3 portion with a substantially flat rim or perimeter 20 extending there around as best seen in FIGURE 1.

The plate 18 is also provided with a hollow cylindrical handle holder 22 into which is threaded a wooden handle 24.

The mop head holder 14 is also provided with a substantially rectangular squeeze plate 26 hingedly connected to the rear portion of the plate 18 as best seen in FIG- URE 2 and indicated at 28. It Will be noted that the plate 18 and the handle 24 are attached to the mop head 12 so that the handle 24 is disposed at an angle with respect to the floor or surface upon which the mop is used. The mop head 12 is substantially horizontal on its bottom and has opposite vertical sidewalls, and the top 30 is diagonally inclined. The mopso far described is a well known construction and is widely used at the present time to clean surfaces and floors and tiles and the like.

In the use of such a mop the mop head is dipped into the cleaning solution and the floor is scrubbed or wiped with the bottom of the mop head 12, after which the mop head is dipped into the cleaning solution and immersed therein and then the squeeze plate 26 is rotated on the hinge 28 so that the compression plate 32 of the squeeze member 26 will compress the head so that any water in the sponge head 12 is squeezed out of it and discharged into the cleaning solution. Thereafter" the mop head may be dipped into another rinsing solution and squeezed so that the surface has been cleaned by the mop head utilizing the cleaning solution is then rinsed. The mop head may then be dipped into the cleaning solution again and another section or portion of the floor cleaned. Upon repeated carrying out of this procedure, it is apparent that the cleaning solution will no longer be clean but will become contaminated.

with dirt removed from the floor due to the fact that the dirt remains on the sponge head.

In accordance with the present invention a solution to this problem is to provide a pad of absorbent sheet material generally indicated as 34. The absorbent pad of sheet material 34 comprises a plurality of individual sheets 36 superimposed over one another and having a Water proof section 38. The individual sheets 36 are of rectangular configuration and have a portion 40 that is of suflicient length so as to cover the front side of the mop head and the bottom and the rear side thereof. The end or portion of the sheet 36 opposite the water proof portion 38 is indicated as 42 and provides another portion that extends over the top of the mop head 12. The Waterproof section 38 is preferably shellacked so that the plurality of sheets will adhere to one another and is further provided with two spaced apertures or holes 44 disposed therein so that the portion 38 can be mounted on the screw members 16. The front portion of the rim 20 will compress these sheets against the top of the mop head 12. The portion 40 of the individual sheets is wrapped around the front and the bottom of the mop and the rear side of the mop as best seen in FIG- URE 2 and the portion 42 is disposed over the top of the mop and is provided with two holes or openings 46 therein so that the section 42 may also be mounted on the screws 16. The rear portion 20 of the perimeter will secure the sections 42 against the top of the mop head 12.

The purpose of waterproofing the section 38 is to provide a substantially rigid portion of the sheet that will not be affected by the water and so that the remaining portion of the sheet can be readily torn from this section 38 so as to present a new and clean sheet for use on a dirty floor. The elongated shellacked section 38 is provided with a slit 48 therein and perforations 50 extending the complete width of the sheet adjacent the slit 48 so that the dirty portion 40 of an outer sheet that has dirt thereon may be readily removed from the remaining pad of sheet material. Disposed directly beneath the sheet 36 and adjacent perforated line 50 is a narrow band or strip 52 .made of any suitable sheet material so as to reinforce the section 38 adjacent the slit 48 so that the sheet will easily tear along the perfo-.

rated line 52. The slit 48 is to enable the operator to get a finger grip on the outer sheet that is to be ripped or torn from the pad and discarded. The slits 48 are disposed on adjacent strips in alternate fashion or lateral-.

ly spaced from each other so that only one sheet at a and below the hinge 28 so that when the sheet is torn by inserting the fingernail in the slit 48 and pealed back,

the used portion 40 or the dirty portion of the disposable sheet material will also be ripped or torn along the perforated line 54.

Although holes 46 are provided for mounting the portion 42 of the sheet material on the screws 16, the sheet material may have these holes eliminated and merely be compressed between the rear perimeter 20 of 1 the plate 18 if desired. The absorbent material may be treated with any well known wet strength material if desired.

Thus with the present invention the pad of sheetmaterial may be made in an economical and simple fashion merely by waterproofing one section 38 of a rectangular sheet of material, such as conventional paper towels, and providing them with a pluarlity of slits and a tape or band so that one sheet may be readily removed from the other sheet, and further providing them with hole means for attachment under a conventional wiping mop, thus requiring no additional clamping means or other means for securing the sheet around the mop head 12.

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIGURE 5 this is substantially the same as that'already described in connection with FIGURE 4, except that the strip or band.

52 that is adhered to the bottom of each sheet of material is provided with hand hole openings 56 instead of slits, which hand hole openings 56 are also disposed laterally of each other for adjacent sheets so that only one sheet at a time will be riped or torn from the section 38 of the sheet material.

Thus from the foregoing description it is apparent that the invention provides a novel and economical and simple pad of sheet material comprising a plurality of substantially rectangular sheets that have hand gripping means disposed therein for wrapping around a mop head for utilizing the outer sheet only of the pad of sheet material to clean a certain section of the floor surface. The present invention thus saves an enormous amount of water since it only requires a small amount of water to wet the outer sheet of sheet material and thereafter the cleaning solution is applied to a certain section, after which the dirty layer of sheet material, along with the dirt that it absorbs is discarded; Thus the present invention completely eliminates the requirement of a large amount of cleaning solution, and the usual contamination that occurs when the so-called sequeegee mop of the present day is utilized without an outer layer of sheet material as described in the present invention.

Inasmuch as various changes may be made in the form,

location and relative arrangement of the parts, Without departing from the spirit of the invention, it is not intended to limit the invention except by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pad of disposable sheet material for attachment to a mop head consisting of a stack of individual absorbent sheets, a substantially rectangular section of each of said sheets being Waterproofed, perforation means disposed along one edge of said Waterproof section, a thin strip of material secured to one side of each of said sheets and extending between the opposite ends of each of t said Waterproofed sections, an opening providing finger grip means disposed on each of said sheets and adjacent said strip for exposing said strip so that a sheet may be torn from the remaining portion of sheets 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the waterproofed section is shellacked.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein each sheet is provided with a water absorbent section that wraps around the front, bottom, rear side and .a portion of the top side of a mop head, and a perforated line is disposed in said absorbent section so that the sheet will easily rip from the remaining portion of sheet along the rear side of the mop.

4. A mop head and a pad of disposable sheet material attached to said mop head consisting of a stack of individual absorbent sheets, one end of said sheets including a substantially rectangular waterproofed section, perforation means disposed along one edge of said waterproofed section, a thin strip of material extending between the opposite ends of said waterproof section and secured to one side of each sheet, and finger grip opening means disposed on each of said sheets and adjacent said strip for exposing said strip so that a sheet may be torn from the remaining portion of sheets.

5. In combination, a mop with an elongated handle and a head attached thereto, a pad of disposable sheet material wrapped around said head comprising a stack of individual absorbent sheets with a substantially rectangular section of each of said sheet being waterproofed and disposed on the top side of said mop head, perforation means disposed along one edge of said waterproofed section, a thin strip of material secured to one side of each of said sheets and extending between the opposite ends of each said waterproofed sections, an opening providing finger grip means disposed on each of said sheets and adjacent said strip for exposing said strip so that a sheet can be torn off and removed from said pad of disposable sheets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 775,478 11/ 1904 Sa-rason 120-24 1,587,948 6/1926 Hankar 15-209 1,716,171 6/1929 Horihata 15-232 1,794,492 3/1931 Renda-l-l. 1,960,192 5/1934 Howard 15-209 2,039,752 5/1936 Tho-mas. 2,306,944 12/1942 Gray 15-231 2,859,463 11/1958 Hirsch 15-231 X 3,199,136 8/1965 George 15-231 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,289,565 2/1962 France.

346,498 12/ 1921 Germany.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner. 

